John A. Schindler, M. D. was a medical classmate
of mine. Now that he has written a best-seller,
"How To Live 365 Days a Year", I can see in this
recent work the same painstaking, systematic, methodical person who learned his origins and insertions with
me many years ago. He shows in a clear and popular
manner how the emotions can play upon the organs
of the body in real, not imaginary symptoms.

The author has done an admirable job of popularising the field of psychosomatic medicine, and showing
how unwary husbands tend to pay in their wives' doctor bills for their own lack of love and understanding
for their families. He shows so clearly that psychologic symptoms are neither "put on" nor are they
"all imagined in the mind", but they actually produce
bodily changes which may even turn into organic
diseases, such as ulcer. Dr. Schindler is not a psychiatrist, but is practicing as the specialist in internal
medicine in a small town clinic. Since he is practicing
in a small community in which he had lived all his lif e,
it is understandable that he knows the life histories
and the family histories of his patients in a way that
would not be possible in a large city practice.

Dr. Schindler does not in any way try to tear down
the faith of his patients and one may easily add to
his facts the truth of Scriptural faith, but it is obvious
that he has left "religion" out of all consideration. I
can understand his neglectful attitude toward "religion"
since none of the local churches have any life. Yet
there is -a highly conventional advocacy of decency
and ethics and a rejection of Freud and of Kinsey, in
no uncertain terms.

I stopped at the author's home at Eastertime but
did not f ind him at home. Since that time I received
the following in a letter from him:

"Dear Phil:
"It was very nice to get your letter and to know
where you are and what you are doing. It was nice
to find out that you are a psychiatrist with both feet
on the ground.

"I quite agree with you that for some people joining
one of the organized churches seems to be of some
benefit, but on the other hand, there are great many
who find in it only increasing insecurity and frustration. In our practice we find that the clergy have a
larger percentage of emotionally induced illness than
almost any other vocational class, and we often see
theological problems mixed up in people's troubles.

My own feeling is that there is a vast difference
between religion and theology, and that theology has
been a bad thing for the world."

What a pity that we Christians should give such
an impression! Nevertheless, we feel that this book
has much to contribute to Christian thinking, with
much less danger than many psychology books.